Allergy or intolerance?
There are two types of reaction your child might experience when it comes to milk; an allergy or intolerance.
Milk allergy
What are the symptoms of a milk allergy?
The symptoms of a milk allergy can include rashes, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, hives, eczema and difficulty breathing.
What milk can cause allergies?
Your child can react to cows’ milk, formula based on cows’ milk and even through your breast milk if you’ve eaten or drunk dairy products.
If your child is allergic to cows’ milk, it’s likely they’ll also be allergic to goats’ milk, as the protein in both are similar. It’s usually quite easy to detect and requires a simple blood or skin-prick test.
Feeding and milk allergies
Thanks to the food-labelling laws you don’t need to guess about the milk content in any food or drink. All pre-packaged foods clearly state whether they contain cow, sheep, goat or buffalo milk. So if you’re in doubt, check the label before feeding your child
Are milk allergies common?
An allergy to cows’ milk affects 2-7% of children under 1yr old. Children usually grow out of cows’ milk allergies by the age of three, but around a fifth will always be allergic, even as adults.
Milk intolerance
A milk intolerance is different to an allergy but some symptoms may be similar.
• The symptoms of milk intolerance can include eczema, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps BUT NOT hives or breathing difficulties.
• A milk intolerance won’t show up in a blood or skin-prick test.
• It’s important to find out whether your child is intolerant to the protein or lactose in milk. If it’s the protein, your child could still be able to have cows’ milk based child milk in their diet. The best way to find out is to speak to your doctor.
Alternative milk
If your child has an allergy or intolerance to cows’ milk, don’t worry. The good news is there are lots of alternative child milk available. These can still be based on cows’ milk but the proteins will be already broken down or an alternative to lactose used. But always talk to your doctor about the best milk replacement before switching to a new kind of milk.